IT News Africa: Top Tech Stories of the Week

This week has been an extremely busy one at that. There have been many questions raised this week. These include has load shedding killed off the electric car in SA? And is cyber crime on the rise? These questions have been answered by leading industry experts, who have given their opinion on the above mentioned topics.

Moving over to Kenya, the communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is set to increase the amount payable, for fines paid by telco operators, for poor Quality of Service (QoS).

Shifting the focus to Rwanda, IHS has now acquired over 200 towers from Airtel, helping the operator to deleverage through significantly reducing on-going capital expenditure on passive infrastructure.

The team at IT News Africa hopes you have a fantastic weekend. Our top stories of the week as well as our Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro review can be found below:

News

CA set to implement higher fines for poor QoS
According to the authority operators that do not comply, or fail to meet the set quality standards that the authority has implemented, may be subjected to a fine. Read More.

Vérone Mankou launches first store in Abidjan
VMK, a company founded by Vérone Mankou, the Congolese entrepreneur behind the first tablet made in Africa, announced the opening of its first VMK store in Abidjan. Read More.

Airtel sells off towers to IHS
Airtel Rwanda has finalised the sale its mobile towers, with IHS taking hold of the assets. According to Airtel, the deal will see a vast majority of mobile subscribers enjoy networks that are more stable. Additionally, the company revealed that higher network uptimes are expected across the country. Read More.

Ericsson unveils evolution of Media Delivery Network
According to Ericsson, with the unprecedented growth in demand for mobile broadband driven by video consumption, Ericsson believes that the viability of the entire media delivery value chain hangs on the ability of network operators to transform into a media-centric business. Read More.

Cyber Espionage group attacking thousands of victims globally
Kaspersky Lab’s Global Research and Analysis Team have discovered Desert Falcons – a cyber espionage group targeting multiple high profile organisations and individuals from Middle East countries. Read More.

MasterCard Multi-currency passport App launches in SA
MasterCard has launched the MasterCard Multi-currency Cash Passport mobile app in South Africa. The app aims to provide Multi-currency Cash Passport cardholders with an easier platform when managing their account’s. Read More.

Telkom: “Restructuring is imperative for the survival of business”
South African telecom provider, Telkom SA has denied claims that the company has been planning to cut up to 55 percent of its initial 18,000 staff members. According union group Solidarity, it expected to receive a formal notice of the job cuts from Telkom on Monday, 16 February 2015. Read More.

BCX set to ink 3 year deal with Vaninga
Vaninga, a subsidiary of Athlone Investments Limited, has stated that it has received a Letter of Intent from Business Connexion (BCX) securing a three year deal for the provision of data centre services in Mozambique. According to the company, the deal has been valued at between $USD 4 million and $USD 5 million over the term of the proposed agreement. Read More.

Opinions

Is Cybercrime on the rise in SA?
The recent announcement by the National Protection Authority of South Africa (NPA) revealed that 177 cybercrime cases had been finalised in the past year, and has highlighted the need for individuals to make sure that they are adequately protected from hackers. Read More.

Has load shedding killed off the electric car in Africa?
Two years ago, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced a 35% reimbursement on production costs over three years as an incentive for local electric car manufacturers. Thus far, only Ethiopia and South Africa have attempted to launch electric cars on the African continent, which some have hailed as an environmental victory for both countries. Eskom has already taken delivery of electric cars and installed charging stations at its Head Office and research facility to test the infrastructure demands these cars would place upon the grid. However, against the backdrop of recent power outages, we have to beg the question: does the electric car still have a future in South Africa? Read More.

Interviews

IFS targets Africa as key growth market
Alastair Sorbie is currently CEO and President of IFS, a position he has held since 2006. Sorbie joined the Swedish ERP solutions provider as managing director in 1997, when IFS entered the UK market. Watch the interview here.

Transforming African travel with smart technology – Sabre
Travel and tourism alone is the third most popular topic, according to Sabre Corporation, for mobile apps, behind weather and news. These are mainly limited to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, but the opportunity for wearable technology with apps in travel is significant – we can see uses for this for travelers, airlines, hotels and agencies. There is steady growth in the use of apps and online travel tools in SA, and points out that the country is ‘at the forefront of mobile payment and geo-location solutions. By taking note of key trends, South African and African industry leaders can get several steps ahead of their foreign counterparts. Watch the interview here.

Big Data & Connected Intelligence changes everything – HP
Joseph Kim is the Senior Director and General Manager for HP Propel. According to Kim, HP Software’s product lineup aims to help IT organisation transform into an IT Service Broker. Watch the interview here.

Top Features

Overcome load shedding with these top tech tips
As load shedding is becoming a regular occurrence in South Africa, IT News Africa has put together a few tech tips to get you through the load shedding cycles. Read More.

Social media takes aim at SONA 2015
President Jacob Zuma delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in South Africa despite a walkout by the DA, the expulsion off EFF MPs, and threats of court action after cell phone connectivity was cut ahead of his address, which may have prevented media from reporting on the topics discussed in a timely manner. Read More.

Top Lists

Top 10 richest countries in Africa rated
Africa is home to some of the richest countries in the world, in part due to its oil-rich soil and human capital. With GDPs going up as high as $594.257 Billion. Read More.

Ranked: Top 10 most innovative companies in Africa
Africa is full of innovation. Whether it is a startup, or a multinational company, Africa is bursting with potential when it comes to innovation in the fields of technology, applications, education and the ICT sector. Read More.

Top 10 Cyber Security Trends for 2015
Paladion Networks has highlighted the top 10 cyber security trends that will impact global digital security in 2015, and beyond. These trends can have long-term impact on the enterprises in Middle East and Africa. Read More.

Gadgets and Gaming

Dying Light Review
Techland has brought out some great gaming titles in the past, with the inclusion of some not so great titles. Some of the more notable titles would be Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide, as well as Call of Juarez: Bound By Blood. Fast forward to 2015 and developer Techland, along with publisher Warner Bros. have now released Dying Light. Read More.

Evolve Review
Before the launch of Evolve, I have had quite a bit of hands-on time with this title. This includes testing out the Alpha, Beta, and Technical tests as well as playing and experiencing code at various trade shows. With the Alpha and Beta out the way, Evolve has finally seen a retail release. However, has developer Turtle Rock and publisher 2K Games evolved the typical online and offline shooter… or has evolution taken its toll on their latest title? Time to find out.

Review: Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro – Tablet Meets Projector
Tablets devices have come a long way over the past few years. We have seen the release of waterproof tablets, as well as the release of tablet devices that are aimed at the mobile workforce. However, Lenovo has taken the core concept of the tablet device and evolved it into something unique and innovative. For the past few years we have been waiting for the tablet/projector hybrid, and it is finally here. Read More.

Darryl Linington